Ammunition antidefuzing device

ABSTRACT

A device consisting of a container, which is filled with a liquid chemical material having combustion characteristics, that is positioned in a bomb or shell in conjunction with the fuze therefor, so that upon impact of the bomb or shell with the target, the container will be ruptured and cause the liquid chemical material to be dispersed in the explosive in the bomb or shell and in the event the bomb or shell is a dud, that any attempts to remove the fuze therefrom, will result in the liquid chemical material being exposed to the atmosphere, water or the perspiration of any one removing the fuze, to cause the liquid chemical material to combust and thus ignite or detonate the explosives within the bomb or shell.

United States Patent Bristol, Pa.

AMMUNITION ANTIDEFUZING DEVICE 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 102/57,

Int. Cl F42b 13/02 Field of Search 102/57, 58, 66, 6, 90, 70, 8

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1884 Bachelder Primary Examiner-Samuel W. Engle Attorney-Robert 1. Williams, Jr.

ABSTRACT: A device consisting of a container, which is filled with a liquid chemical material having combustion characteristics, that is positioned in a bomb or shell in conjunction with the fuze therefor, so that upon impact of the bomb or shell with the target, the container will be ruptured and cause the liquid chemical material to be dispersed in the explosive in the bomb or shell and in the event the bomb or shell is a dud, that any attempts to remove the fuze therefrom, will result in the liquid chemical material being exposed to the atmosphere, water or the perspiration of any one removing the fuze, to cause the liquid chemical material to combust and thus ignite or detonate the explosives within the bomb or shell.

PATENTEU AUG] 7 Ian SHEET 1 [IF 2 14 17/1290? 6. mgerso/l INVENTORS Jae/f 14 She/Mara PATENTEU AUG! 7 I971 SHEET 2 BF 2 IIIIIIIIIII AMMUNITION ANTIDEFUZING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Recent intelligence sources have reported that the guerrilla fighters in Vietnam have been recovering the explosives from dud bombs or shells and using such explosives in carrying out their guerrilla" warfare. The explosives being retrieved upon removing the fuze from the bomb or shell, therefore, the instant invention contemplates the ignition of the explosives within the bomb or shell, upon removal of the fuze, by a liquid chemical material that will combust upon contact with the atmosphere, water and perspiration of the one attempting to remove the fuze, to ignite the explosive and thus destroy the bomb or shell.

v2. Description of the Prior Art -Delayed-action assemblies, auxiliary cartridges, tetryl lead charges and other arrangements have been used to detonate a bomb or shell to prevent them from becoming duds, but the instant invention contemplates the use of liquid chemical material which will ignite the explosive in a dud bomb or shell to destroy the same if an attempt is made to remove the fuze.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improvements in a device that will cause a chemical reaction to ignite the explosive in a dud bomb or shell when the end of the bomb or shell is opened by removal of the fuze therefrom.

The liquid chemical material is positioned in a container that is in close proximity to the fuze so that upon impact with the target, the container is fragmented, the liquid chemical material will be released and in the event the bomb or shell is a dud, the liquid chemical material will contact and be dispersed within the explosive in the dud bomb or shell. Then, since the liquid chemical material is sensitive to atmosphere, water or the perspiration of the one removing the fuze, the explosive will be ignited when the fuze is removed.

It is also to be noted that the container in which the liquid chemical material is placed will withstand normal handling shocks and the acceleration load on firing and will not fragment until impact with the target.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an antidefuzing device that will include a container having therein a liquid chemical material that is subject to combustion upon contact therewith of atmosphere, water and body perspiration to ignite an explosive within a dud bomb or shell.

With the above and other objects in view that may appear to one skilled in the art from the following description when taken in'conjunction with the drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional view, partly in elevation and partly broken away, of one form of the antidefuzing device embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of another form of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of still another form of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a further form of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring more in detail to the drawings, and more especially to FIG. I thereof, wherein like parts are designated by like reference numerals, the reference numeral is generally used to designate a fuze, such as is generally shown in the Army Technical Manual TM-9- I 300-205.

The fuze 10, as is conventional, comprises a reduced externally threaded portion 11 whereby the fuze 10 is threadably connected to a bomb or shell 12 which contains therein a conventional explosive l3.

A booster charge 14 is threadably connected within the reduced portion 11 and is provided with a frangible closure disk 15.

An antidefuzing device 16 includes an inverted truncated conical-shaped foamed plastic adapter 17 that is provided with a circular cavity 18 at the base end thereof to receive and be bonded to the outer end of the booster charge 14. An annular shoulder or seat 19 is provided at the bottom of the cavity 18 on which rests a rupture disk 20 that is provided at the center thereof with a punched opening 21. As the opening 21 is pinched, the metal will form a roughened ridge about the opening 21 for a purpose to be later described.

A second circular cavity 22 is provided in the adapter 17 and the cavityv 22 extends from the truncated end of the adapter 17 to the shoulder or seat 19. A flat-sided circular container 23 containing therein a liquid chemical material 24, such as sodium-potassium alloy (NaK) or any of several metal alkyls, is slipped into the cavity 22 until it comes to rest on the side of the shoulder or seat 19 opposite to that on which rests the disk 20. It is also possible within the scope of the invention to make the container 23 of any shape or size as required.

The fuze l0, and bomb or shell 12 are assembled as shown in FIG. 1 with the adapter 17 in a position as previously described and the bomb or shell 12 is ready for activation.

The action of the antidefuzing device 16 is the same whether the bomb or shell 12 explodes or becomes a dud. The

impact of the bomb or shell 12 will cause the disk 20 to be ruptured and the impact of the roughened edges or particles of the disk 20 with the container 23 will destroy the container 23 and cause the liquid chemical material 24 therein to flow into and be dispersed within the explosive 13.

If the bomb or shell 12 is not activated and if the fuze 10, or the bomb or shell .12 is not damaged so that air or moisture will come into contact with the chemical material 24, the bomb or shell 12 will become a dud and will so remain until an attempt is made to remove the fuze 10. If then air or moisture comes in contact with the liquid chemical material 24, the bomb or shell 12 will be activated.

Throughout the description of the remaining forms of the invention, the elements of the fuze 10 and the bomb or shell 12 will be designated by the same reference numerals as previously used for FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2 the antidefuzing device 30 includes a cup-shaped foamed plastic adapter 31 that is provided with an enlarged annular flange 32 at the open end thereof to receive and be bonded to the outer end of the booster charge 14. Where the flange 32 forms a continuation of the adapter 31, an annular shoulder or seat 33 is provided on which rests a metal rupture disk 34 having a punched opening 35 therein so that it is similar in construction in all respects to the rupture disk 20.

A glass container 36 filled with a liquid chemical material 37 is positioned in the adapter 31 and a cushioning washer 38 is positioned between the container 36 and the disk 34 so that the sharp edge of the opening 35 will not engage the container 36 under ordinary handling and firing of the bomb or shell 12, but the container 36 will still fracture under impact of the bomb or shell 12 with the target.

The operation of this form of the invention is identical with the operation of the antidefuzing device 16 of F IG. 1 as previously described.

In FIG. 3 the antidefuzing device 40 comprises a sectional two-walled cup-shaped container 41 and the hollow space provided by the two-wall construction has sealed therein a liquid chemical material 42. The container 41 is to be ruptured by a knife-edged rupture ring 43 upon impact of the bomb or shell 12 with the target. The ring 43 engages the lower end of the portion 11 and is in contactual circumjacent relation to the lower end of the booster charge 14. A cushioning washer 44 is positioned between the ring 43 and the container 41 to prevent damage thereto during ordinary handling and firing of the bomb or shell 12. An auxiliary booster charge 45 may also be positioned within the cavity formed by the inner wall of the container 41 to assist in fragmenting the container 41 upon impact of the bomb or shell 12 on the target.

In this form of the invention the rupture disk is replaced by the rupture ring 43, otherwise the operation of this form of the invention is identical to the forms of the invention as previously described.

In the form of the invention as shown in FIG. 4, the antidefuzing device 50 comprises a glass ampul 51 which before scaling is filled with a liquid chemical material 52 and a metal ball 53 is also placed in the ampul 51. The ampul 51 is then encapsulated in a truncated conical-shaped block 54 of a foamed plastic material and the block 54 is placed in the explosive 13 when it is placed in the bomb or shell 12. The block 54 does not have to be positioned at any specific location and the viscosity of the liquid chemical material 52 will dampen any oscillations of the ball 53 to prevent breakage of the ampul 51 during normal handling shocks received by the bomb or shell 12. The tiring of the bomb or shell 12 will impart sufficient momentum upon the ball 53 to break the ampul 51, but the material from which the block 54 is formed will delay the dispersion of the liquid chemical material 52 until after impact. The dispersion of the liquid chemical material 52 in the block 54 will attain enough surface to be oxidized upon exposure to air or moisture to combust the liquid chemical material 52 and activate the explosive 13.

All forms of the invention contemplate the use of a container of various shapes or sizes and formed from various materials and such containers to be positioned in a bomb or shell so that if the bomb or shell is a dud and the container has been fragmented upon impact of the bomb or shell with a target, any attempt to remove the fuze from the bomb or shell will cause the liquid chemical material to be contacted by air or moisture, which will create combustion of the liquid chemical material and subsequent activation of the explosive within the bomb or shell.

It is believed that from the foregoing description the construction and mode of operation of all forms of the invention will be clear to one skilled in the art and it is to be understood that variations in the construction and mode of operation of the invention may be adhered to provide such variations conform to the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination with a fuze for a bomb or shell having an explosive therein of an antidefuzing device comprising a container, a liquid chemical material in said container and means for rupturing said container upon impact of the bomb or shell with a target so that the liquid chemical material will be dispersed within the explosive and will cause ignition thereof when an attempt is made to remove the fuze from the bomb or shell.

2. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the means for rupturing the container comprises a metal disk having a punched opening therein forming a rough rim about said opening.

3. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the means for rupturing the container comprises a metal ring having a knife edge on one face thereof.

4. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the means for rupturing the container comprises a metal ball.

5. The combination as in claim 1 wherein a truncated conical-shaped adapter is provided for holding said container.

6. The combination as in claim 1 wherein a cup-shaped adapter is provided for holding said container.

7. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the container is of two-walled construction and the liquid chemical material is positioned within the spaced formed by the two-walled construction of the container.

8. The combination as in claim 1 wherein cushioning means is provided to prevent damage to the container during ordinary handling thereof.

9. The combination as in claim 5 wherein the base of said adapter is provided with a cavity to receive one end of the fuze.

10. The combination as in claim 6 wherein said adapter is provided with an annular flange to receive one end of the fuze. 

1. The combination with a fuze for a bomb or shell having an explosive therein of an antidefuzing device comprising a container, a liquid chemical material in said container and means for rupturing said container upon impact of the bomb or shell with a target so that the liquid chemical material will be dispersed within the explosive and will cause ignition thereof when an attempt is made to remove the fuze from the bomb or shell.
 2. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the means for rupturing the container comprises a metal disk having a punched opening therein forming a rough rim about said opening.
 3. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the means for rupturing the container comprises a metal ring having a knife edge on one face thereof.
 4. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the means for rupturing the container comprises a metal ball.
 5. The combination as in claim 1 wherein a truncated conical-shaped adapter is provided for holding said container.
 6. The combination as in claim 1 wherein a cup-shaped adapter is provided for holding said container.
 7. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the container is of two-walled construction and the liquid chemical material is positioned within the spaced formed by the two-walled construction of the container.
 8. The combination as in claim 1 wherein cushioning means is provided to prevent damage to the container during ordinary handling thereof.
 9. The combination as in claim 5 wherein the base of said adapter is provided with a cavity to receive one end of the fuze.
 10. The combination as in claim 6 wherein said adapter is provided with an annular flange to receive one end of the fuze. 